Where the Wind Blows Read Online Free PDF Page A

Concentrating, she listened. There it was again.
    Whistling, definitely. In moments, boot steps sounded on the porch, and the door opened. Startled, she swung around.
    Chase Logan stood in the doorway. His hat was tipped back and he had a most mischievous look in his eyes.
    “Evenin’, sweetheart. Save me any supper? I’m so hungry I could eat a horse, hooves and all. Sorry, Cody,” he chuckled, nodding in the direction of the barn.
    Activity in the small cabin ceased. Three sets of eyes turned to peer at the rangy cowboy. Sarah scurried behind Gabe’s legs, wrapping one of her arms around each and peeking between the two.
    “You—you’re back!” Jessie managed at last. “I wasn’t expecting you home so soon.” Her heart thudded and she wondered, was it possible to be pleased and frightened at the same time?
    Chase tossed his saddlebags into the corner and hung his coat on a peg. He sauntered into the room like a man staking claim. He stopped just short of Jessie.
    Bending low, he whispered into to her ear. “Did you miss me?” He straightened and looked her full in the face. His whiskey-colored eyes searched hers. Her face grew warm, and she dropped her gaze.
    A feather’s width away, she breathed in his scent: peppermint, crispness of outdoors, and—man. Chase arched an eyebrow and turned to the others.
    “I’ve surprised my little wife speechless,” he quipped. “Guess I’ll just warm up a bit before this cold turns into frostbite. Don’t let me interrupt you all.” With that said, he stepped to the fire and spread his hands before it.
    Jessie hurried to the stove and began gathering biscuits and beans and a few leftover slices of the ham Mr. Hobbs had brought. She warmed the coffee and set him a place at the table, using the one tan earthen plate that wasn’t chipped. As she worked she studied Chase surreptitiously.
    He stood by the fire, periodically stamping his feet. His face, chapped and red, was fascinating. He was, in fact, the finest-looking man she’d ever seen. Heat prickled her cheeks again. She tried to draw her gaze away, but couldn’t.
    His forehead was rimmed with damp, wavy brown hair, creased from his hat. His eyebrows were dark and his lashes abundant. But it was his lips that caught and held Jessie’s attention. Rough from the weather, they were drawn up at the corners in a secretive smile.
    Apparently feeling her stare, he turned. When he held her gaze in his, he nodded slowly, knowingly. Jessie snapped her attention back to the table and the supper she had set there. Her cheeks burned.
    Why in the world has he returned?
    “Your supper’s ready. Come and eat. I’ll pour your coffee.” Her gaze skittered whenever he looked her way, yet she could feel his stare almost as truly as if he’d reached out and touched her.
    While Chase ate, Jessie readied Sarah for bed. She daubed the little girl’s face with a warm, moist cloth, then brushed and braided her hair.
    Tucking her into the tiny bed Nathan had built in anticipation and moved into the room next to the fire, she kissed the child on the cheek. “Don’t be scared now, Sarah, honey,” Jessie whispered. “Gabe is going to be sleeping right here beside you. Isn’t that right, Gabe?”
    “You betcha.” Gabe gave Sarah a wink. “Let’s hope she don’t keep me up with all her chatter.”
    Sarah’s solemn gaze moved around the room until it rested on Mr. Logan. The child studied the big cowboy as he hunched over his meal. Before Sarah’s eyelids fluttered closed, Jessie leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “Sleep well, my precious.”
    Jessie turned to find Mr. Logan staring again. What was he up to, anyway? He was making her jumpier than a hen in a yard full of roosters.
    He, on the other hand, seemed the picture of calm. He’d pushed his chair back from the table and was sipping contentedly from his cup. Catching her gaze once again, he winked and smiled suggestively—much like a husband waiting for the